Water or oil well screen.



PATENTED MAR. 24, 1908. A. E. GHILDRESS 6:, H. CATHRINER.

WATER 0R OIL WELL SCREEN.

APPLICATION FILED MAE.16.1907.

. ylfildmm 17 279 flafir'zzzaz' INVENTORJ W] TNESSES A TTOR/VE VS AUTHEY ELI OHILDRESS AND HENRY CATH RINE R, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS WATER OR OIL WELL SCREEN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 24., 1908.

Application filed March 16, 1907. Serial No. 362,701.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, AUTHEY ELI CHIL- DRESS and HENRY CATHRINER, citizens of the United States, residing at Houston, in the county of Harris and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful 'Water or Oil Well Screen, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to pump strainers or screens and has for its object the provision of a strong, durable and comparatively inexpensive device of this character especially designed for use in connection. with oil or water pumps and which will effectually prevent the entrance of sand, mud and other foreign matter to the interior of the pump barrel or cylinder.

A further object of the invention is to provide a strainer including a perforated. barrel or cylinder having its exterior walls covered with a spirally wound strip of metal, the latter being provided with spaced inwardly extending lugs which bear against the exterior walls of the barrel and form. a series of interseating vertical and circumferential liquid passages.

A still further object of the invention is to generally improve this class of devices so as to increase their utility, durability and efiiciency.

Further objects and advantages will appear in the following description, it being understood that various changes in form, proportions and minor details of construction may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification: Figure 1 is a side elevation partly in section of a pump screen or strainer constructed in accordance with our invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section showing a portion of the screen or strainer.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all of the figures of the drawings.

The improved strainer forming the subject matter of the present invention includes an open ended barrel or cylinder 5 having its opposite ends threaded at 6 and its side walls provided forations or openings 7 through which the water or oil is admitted to the interior of the cylinder.

The exterior walls of the barrel or cylinder with a plurality of transverse perare incased in a jacket or housing which constitutes the screen-proper, said jacket being preferably formed of a single strip of metal which is wound in spiral form around the perforated walls of said barrel and is provided with spaced. inwardly extending lugs 8 defining a series of vertically disposed liquid passages 9.

The height of the lugs 8 is greater than that of the body portion of the strip so that when the convolutions of the jacket are positioned on the barrel 7 with the lugs 8 in contact with each other there will be formed a spirally disposed annular recess 10 between the several convolutions and through which the oil or water is free to pass into the vertical passages 9 and thence through the perforations to the interior of the barrel 5.

The lugs 8 are preferably disposed in vertical alinement with each other and are provided on their upper and lower faces with channels 11 which register with each other when the jacket is in place and form a source of communication between the vertical passages 9 and the annular recesses 10 thus permitting the oil or water to circulate circumferentially and vertically of the barrel.

The metal strip forming the casing or housing is retained in position on the barrel 5 by means of oppositely disposed collars 12 and 18 which. are welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the exterior walls of the barrel adjacent the threads 6 and are provided with depending retaining flanges 14 which bear against the adjacent convolutions of the easing or screen, as shown.

The collars 12 and 13 not only serve to retain the jacket or screen in position on the barrel 5 but form closures for the opposite ends of the vertical liquid passages 9 thereby effectually preventing the escape of oil or water and causing the latter to flow through the perforation 7 into the barrel. It will thus be seen that the water or oil will enter the annular recesses 10 and thence flow through the channel 11 to the vertical passages 9 thus permitting the liquid to flow through the several perforations in the barrel.

It will of course be understood that the cross sectional diameter of the metal constituting the jacket or screen may be varied at will and that the lugs 8 may be spaced at different distances apart so as to increase or diminish the size of the vertical liquid passages. It will also be understood that by increasing the height of the lugs or decreasing the height of the body of the metal strip forming the jacket the distance between the free edges of the convolutions of the strip may be varied so as to permit the entrance of 5 any desired quantity of oil or water.

The continuous metal strip not only forms a screen or strainer for the barrel but serves to reinforce and strengthen the latter and thus render the same strong and rigid.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that there is provided an extremely simple, inexpensive and eflicient device admirably adapted for the attainment of the ends in view.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed is:

A well strainer comprising a barrel having circumferential rows of orifices, a jacket consisting of a metallic strip disposed in convo- 2 lutions around the barrel and having spaced lugs forming in conjunction therewith vertical passages each of which communicates 1 throughout its entire length directly with the orifices, thus to utilize the entire extent of such passages for conducting purposes, the opposed faces of the convolutions being provided with channels that intersect the vertlcal passages to permit entrance of liquid thereto, and collars rigidly secured to the barrel near its ends and having integral in ward projecting flanges that inclose the adjacent convolutions of the jacket to retain the same in position on the barrel and also to close the terminals of the passages, thereby to prevent the escape of liquid and to cause the latter to flow into the barrel.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own, we have hereto affixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

AUTHEY ELI CHILDRESS. HENRY CATHRINER. VlZitnesses:

A. J. GUILLOTTE, S. P. FELDER. 

